Bangladesh well and truly ahead in the Test
The West Indies batsmen have to bring the best out of themselves to chase down 395 as no team has won chasing this many at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram.
Bangladesh are well and truly ahead of the West Indies at the end of day four of the first of the two-match series but the West Indies are not out of the contest yet. They need another 285 runs to win on the final day with seven wickets in hand. The pitch offered some turn on day four but batting wasn't too difficult.
The West Indies batsmen have to bring the best out of themselves to chase down 395 as no team has won chasing this many at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium (ZACS) in Chattogram.
Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque stood out with the bat as the southpaw notched up his 10th Test hundred. Mominul now has more Test hundreds than anyone else for Bangladesh. He was ably supported by wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das who scored 69 and stitched a 133-run partnership with his skipper for the 6th wicket.
Bangladesh lost the solitary wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim in the first session. The experienced middle-order batsman couldn't add more than eight runs to his overnight total and went back scoring 18. Rahkeem Cornwall accounted for his dismissal.
Mominul Haque, who was unbeaten on 31 at stumps on day three, continued to accumulate runs. He and Liton Das ensured that Bangladesh did not lose track after earning a substantial first innings lead.
Liton struck his 6th Test fifty and a little while later Mominul rewrote the records as he eclipsed Tamim Iqbal to score the highest number of hundreds by a Bangladesh batsman. This was Mominul's 7th hundred at the ZACS.
Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican broke the partnership by dismissing Liton as the latter gifted a catch to backward point while attempting a reverse sweep. Mominul also perished in the next over after playing a sublime knock of 115 off 182 with the help of 10 boundaries.
Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz fell in quick succession and Bangladesh skipper Mominul decided to declare at 223 for eight towards the end of the second session which meant the West Indies had to chase 395 to win.
Spinners Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall picked up three wickets each while Shannon Gabriel dismissed Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque.
In reply, the West Indies started in a pretty solid fashion. The openers kept their wickets intact for an hour. Bangladesh bowlers bowled at a decent line and length, trying to force the batsmen to make mistakes. Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave the first breakthrough as John Campbell got out leg before while attempting a slog sweep. In his next over, Miraz induced an inside edge off Kraigg Brathwaite's bat into the pads and the substitute fielder Yasir Ali took a magnificent catch at jumping to his right at short leg.
There was no stopping Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He trapped Shayne Moseley leg before, picking up his third in the second innings. If he gets three wickets more in this innings, he will only be the fourth cricketer ever to score a hundred and take 10 wickets in a Test match. Also, Miraz is on the verge of being the fastest Bangladesh bowler to pick up 100 Test wickets.
After Moseley's dismissal, Kyle Mayers batted positively and raced to 37 off 50 balls before the end of the day's play. He had Nkrumah Bonner batting with him on 15. The West Indies finished with 110 for three, requiring 285 more runs to win on the final day. They still have Jermaine Blackwood and Joshua Da Silva to come.